1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to toys and, more particularly, to toys especially adapted for stimulating infants.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A useful and effective infant stimulus toy apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,582 by the same inventor herein, and that patent is incorporated herein by reference. Subsequent to the development of the infant stimulus toy apparatus set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,582, the present inventor has made improvements thereof.
More specifically, with the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,582, stimulus cards are inserted in the rear portion of the device. However, to permit the use of toys or other bulky stimulus items and to provide a safer device, it would be desirable if stimulus items were placed in the front portion of the device.
With the device in U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,582, stimulus cards are secured by a set of three right-angle brackets which provide a relatively loose fit on the stimulus cards. In this respect, it would be desirable if a device provides a tight fit on stimulus cards.
When an infant lies on one's back in a crib a stimulus card which is oriented vertically may not be easily viewed by the infant In this respect, it would be desirable if a device were provided which tilts stimulus cards downward to enable infants laying down in a crib to see the stimulus cards.
With the device in U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,582, stimulus cards have smooth back surfaces which are not exposed when the card is mounted in its slots. In order to remove stimulus cards from such a device, a person must grasp an edge of a card or the front of the card, which may prove difficult to accomplish. Repeated grasping of card edges or fronts may result in fraying the card edges or damage to the toys or pictures on the front of the cards. In this respect, it would be desirable if a device were provided in which removal of the stimulus cards is facilitated without requiring the edges or front of the card to be grasped.
There are a wide variety of electronic devices that have considerable entertainment value. The device in U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,582 has no special provision for powering electronic devices. Of course, electronic devices that have independent power supplies can be used with the device in U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,582. Yet, the different batteries in different electronic devices can be in various states of charge. This may lead to confusion as to which batteries will provide adequate power and which batteries will not. In addition, duplicate batteries in each electronic toy increases the cost of using the device for the end consumer, which makes the device less desirable. To overcome these disadvantages, a common power supply for all of the electronic devices could be provided. In this respect, it would be desirable if a central power supply were provided for all electronic devices that are employed in an infant stimulus toy apparatus.
Once battery-containing infant stimulus toy apparatus is opened, to prevent battery discharge and to prevent electrical shocks, it would be desirable if a device were provided which prevents the batteries from discharging.
With the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,582, the device can be opened by manually actuating push buttons or the like. In this respect, an infant may be able to manually open such a device and damage the stimulus cards. To avoid such an occurrence, it would be desirable if an infant stimulus toy device were provided which requires to use of some sort of removable key to open the device.
Thus, while U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,582 indicates it to be well known to use an infant stimulus toy apparatus, said patent does not teach or suggest an improved infant stimulus toy apparatus which has the following combination of desirable features: (1) places stimulus items in the front portion of the device; (2) provides a tight fit on stimulus cards when the device is closed; (3) can tilt stimulus items downward to enable infants laying down in a crib to see the stimulus items; (4) provides a device in which stimulus cards can be removed without grasping the edges or fronts of the cards; (5) provides a central power supply and distribution system for all electronic devices that are employed in the device; (6) prevents batteries from discharging once an infant stimulus toy apparatus is opened; and (7) requires to use of some sort of removable key to open the device. The foregoing desired characteristics are provided by the unique improved infant stimulus toy apparatus of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.